The Best Life Insurance Companies for April 2019

At NerdWallet, we strive to help you make financial decisions with confidence. To do this, many or all of the products featured here are from our partners. However, this doesn’t influence our evaluations. Our opinions are our own.

Finding the best life insurance company involves weighing customer service, financial strength and price. Hundreds of life insurance companies compete for your business, often selling very similar products, so it’s smart to get life insurance quotes from at least a few companies.

Our calculations show that Northwestern Mutual is the best life insurance company among the large companies we scored. Many others are also worthy of consideration, and several on our Top 20 list scored within a fraction of a point of one another. (Full methodology below.) NerdWallet scores the largest national companies that sell policies to individuals.

How to choose the best life insurance company for you

Look at customer satisfaction scores: Other customers’ experience can help you decide whether you want to do business with a company. You can get clues about a company’s reputation through:

Scores from J.D. Power. The independent ratings firm publishes customer satisfaction scores for two dozen of the largest life insurers each year.

Complaints filed against the company with state regulators.

Consider financial strength: Financial strength is especially important for life insurance companies because you’ll want a company that can pay claims many years down the road. Financial strength ratings are available through ratings agencies such as A.M. Best and Standard & Poor’s. We don’t recommend considering insurers with an A.M. Best rating of B or lower.

Get prices: The cost of coverage varies among companies, so it’s smart to compare prices. You can use NerdWallet’s tool to get term life insurance quotes from multiple insurers.

Evaluate product selection: Although many companies sell similar policies, some focus more on certain products, such as whole life insurance, or on certain customers, such as seniors. Knowing generally the type of life insurance you want to buy will help you narrow the choices. You can learn more about the product offerings of life insurance companies listed by clicking on the NerdWallet reviews.

How we came up with our rankings: We started with a list of the largest life insurance companies and then calculated a total score based on three measurements, each with equal weight within the score. We then adjusted scores to a 300-point scale:

Customer satisfaction scores from J.D. Power, worth up to 100 points.

Complaint ratio scores from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners for individual life insurance, which measure complaints to state regulators adjusted for market share. We adjusted the complaint ratios to a 100-point scale, with 100 meaning the fewest number of complaints and 1 equaling the median number of complaints for companies of their size. All of the companies shown drew significantly fewer complaints than the median.

Financial strength ratings from A.M. Best, which indicate a company’s ability to pay future claims, worth up to 100 points. All of the companies shown have solid financial strength. A.M. Best defines the ratings shown above as:

A++ and A+ = superior.

A = excellent.

Scores are based on the most recently released data as of Jan. 1, 2019.

We want to hear from you and encourage a lively discussion among our users. Please help us keep our site clean and safe by following our posting guidelines, and avoid disclosing personal or sensitive information such as bank account or phone numbers. Any comments posted under NerdWallet's official account are not reviewed or endorsed by representatives of financial institutions affiliated with the reviewed products, unless explicitly stated otherwise.

Disclaimer: NerdWallet strives to keep its information accurate and up to date. This information may be different than what you see when you visit a financial institution, service provider or specific product’s site. All financial products, shopping products and services are presented without warranty. When evaluating offers, please review the financial institution’s Terms and Conditions. Pre-qualified offers are not binding. If you find discrepancies with your credit score or information from your credit report, please contact TransUnion® directly.